[ikeem]

I am more confused than ever to which laptop I will buy, with all the talk about the ibook problems I am scared to buy one and I am also scared to buy a powerbook

So I have created a list of computers I am checking out right now

1. Apple ibook 933Mhz

2. Apple ibook 1GHz

3. Apple Powerbook 15in Combo

4. Toshiba Satellite M30/M35

I like them all but I am afraid of the ideal of owning my first mac, will I like it will I hate it, will it annoy me, what if I get a bad laptop will that completely turn me off of Mac's I don't know I am more confused than ever can someone give me some support.

[si_lance]

You've seemed to have picked the 14" options for the iBook, is this because you want the landscape or the speed? If it's speed, I don't think you'll see the difference.

Only you can decide to buy a mac. If you want to "moo cow" and herd with the rest and deal with M$'s shotty apps, support, virii, adware, bots, and trojans, then that's your choice.

If however, you need to run certain apps that only run in windows, then I would say no. Do some homework, and see if these apps exist in OS X or have suitable replacements. Most will, but some actually don't (AutoCad comes to mind). If you're a gamer, then I would definitely say no only because of the limited selection and lag to market.

Make a list of things you NEED from your notebook, then a list of what you WANT and see how many the Toshiba gets and see how many the iBook/Powerbook gets, weight the NEED 2x, and WANT 1x, and hopefully they don't add up to the same number otherwise you may be screwed!

Good luck.

[mgl]

I have an iBook at home and a Toshiba Portege at work, so I can give you some rough comparisons. Portege is different than the model you're considering though.

The Toshiba is much stronger in terms of body structure. No flex. Definitely better.

The Toshiba is way too heavy for the screen size. It's a backbreaker and I hate carrying it. It's also physically larger than the iBook 14 and is ruining my nice briefcase.

The Delete key is in a stupid place on the Toshiba.

There's no trackpad on the Toshiba and 14 months of use has not warmed me up to the pointy stick. I hate it. I always lug a mouse around with me, while the iBook trackpad is great.

The Toshiba doesn't always wake from sleep. Bad, bad, bad.

The Toshiba takes forever and a day to wake up from sleep. My iBook is instantaneous.

The Toshiba LCD isn't as bright as my iBook G4 LCD, believe it or not. I was surprised how much nicer my iBook G4 screen was.

The Toshiba was designed by a nitwit. There's a panel on the back covering the ports. Trust me, you'll break it off in a couple of months if your model has one too. There are lots of them kicking around conference rooms in my office because they break off so easily. And the CD tray eject button is right where you would naturally pick up the laptop, so every single time I pick it up, the cd tray ejects. Stupid, stupid design. It gets worse. The volume control is also there and inevitably you'll turn it up to max while carrying it and then start your powerpoint with some really loud sounds. Oh, and the little blinking lights are plain useless. You have to stare and stare at the embossed symbols to know what they mean. Black on black symbols don't help.

Sometimes the Toshiba will wake from sleep by touching the keyboard. other times, you wait your 30 seconds and realize you need to push the power button. I guess it's an energy saver stage, but the lack of predictability drives me nuts.

The letter symbols are wearing off the keys on my Toshiba. What did they use, crayons?

The docking station that came with it lasted one month before I gave it back from IT. First, it was easy to pull out while it was supposedly locked it, so it was never secure. Second, the docking station was larger than my car (well, almost). Third, I =always= had to reboot it after undocking. It refused to transfer from docked to undocked without a reboot. And yes, I did it properly.

[andreas_g4]

It's very hard to give advice if you don't know what the laptop is going to be used for. Give us some details and we will try to help you.

[m_young]

I was extremely worried that I wouldn't like my mac, but after a week and a half I couldn't love it more. If you're concerned, go somewhere that has apples on display, and just toy around endlessly. and don't be afraid to go back multiple times. Ask any and all questions to the sales people, and perform any and all tasks that you might need. Do the same with the windows machine if you want, even though every windows notebook i ever tried was like every windows desktop-- slow. I couldn't be happier with my mac, and I hope that you are happy with whatever you choose.

[imactheknife]

in the day and age of speed etc...I switched from a brand new Pentium 166mmx (circa 1997) and bought a mac plus from a local thrift store (8 mhz black & white screen, circa 1984) and I never went back to windows...I can't stand even using windows now!! so I would go and play with some macs and thier app's and compare to similiar windows laptop..I love my ibook 800 G3..and I am working on a deal to get a G4 ibook...cheers on your choice of machine! cheers, Mark

[Cadaver]

I doubt you'll see much of a speed difference between the 933MHz iBook and the 1GHz iBook, so save the $$.

Just make sure you realize the 14" is only 1024x768, whereas the (substantially) more expensive 15" PowerBook has a higher 1280x854 resolution.

[macbuddha1]

Just a couple of my personal observations, perhaps they will help you.

1. I just moved over to a 12" iBook G4, and I love it. I moved over from a 15" TiBook 400, but I was afraid the smaller iBook screen would be a huge drawback. I tossed and turned over the decision for weeks. Now I've got it... I don't notice much of a difference. Granted, the new Powerbooks have an even bigger resolution, but 1024x768 is just fine for most work. And it is so solid and easily portable! Perhaps the solid construction of one of Apple's 12" models might meet your needs.

2. No less than 6 people I know at work bought Toshiba laptops in the last year, mostly because of the price. All 6 of them have told me that they now hate them and regret the choice, especially when they see my new Mac working flawlessly, day after day. The Toshibas just don't seem very reliable or built well.

Good luck with your choice, here's hoping you go with the Mac!